Straight bar knitting machines

ABSTRACT

A METHOD AND MEANS OF COLLECTING KNITTED BLANKS PRESSED OFF FROM A MULTI-SECTION STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE IN WHICH A FRONT ENDLESS CONVEYOR DELIVERS PRESSED OFF BLANKS FROM THE RESPECTIVE KNITTING SECTIONS INTO RESPECTIVE COMPARTMENTS IN AN END RECEPTACLE, AND ELECTRIC MOTORS DRIVING THE CONVEYOR AND THE RECEPTABLE ARE UNDER ELECTRIC SWITCH CONTROL INCLUDING ELECTRIC SWITCHES OPERABLE BY SWITCH OPERATING MEMBERS MOVABLE WITH THE CONVEYOR AND THE ELECTRIC SWITCH OPERABLE BY MOVEMENT OF THE RECEPTACLE, WHEREBY SETS OF DIFFERENT SHAPED OR SIZED BLANKS FROM THE RESPECTIVE KNITTING SECTIONS ARE KEPT SEPARATE FROM EACH OTHER.

Sept. 20, 1971 BLOOD 3,605,453

STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINES 4 SheathSheet 1 Filed Feb. 28. 1969 Hal.

Sept. 20, 1971 BLOOD STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 28, 1969 Sept. 20, 1971 BLQQD STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 28, 1969 Sept. 20, 1971 BLOOD 3,605,453

STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Feb. 28, 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 United States Patent 01 fice 3,605,453 STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINES Raymond Blood, Shepshed, near Longhborongh, England, assignor to William Cotton Limited, Loughborough, England Filed Feb. 28, 1969, Ser. No. 803,254 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Mar. 8, 1968, 11,541/ 68 Int. Cl. D04b 9/40 US. Cl. 66-148 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method and means of collecting knitted blanks pressed olf from a multi-section straight bar knitting machine in which a front endless conveyor delivers pressed off blanks from the respective knitting sections into respective compartments in an end receptacle, and electric motors driving the conveyor and the receptacle are under electric switch control including electric switches operable by switch operating members movable with the conveyor and the electric switch operable by movement of the receptacle, whereby sets of different shaped or sized blanks from the respective knitting sections are kept separate from each other.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION Reference is made to British patent application No. 11,541/6'8 of Mar. 8, 1968, William Cotton Limited, from which priority is claimed.

This invention is for improvements in or relating to straight bar knitting machines and concerns the collection of knitted blanks pressed-off from a multi-section straight bar knitting machine.

In a known arrangement of pressing-off blanks being received in containers in registry with the different knitting sections, it has been the practice for the machine operator to collect the blanks from the containers at convenient opportunities. However this undesirably occupies the operators time travelling along the machine which can be of considerable length. In most other respects the machine can be substantially fully automatic.

An object of the invention is to provide for collection of the different blanks from the respective knitting sections in such improved manner that duties of the machine operator are reduced to a minimum whereby one operator may have sufficient time for example to look after more than one machine.

The invention provides a method of collecting knitted blanks pressed-01f from a multi-section straight bar knitting machine, which consists in conveying the blanks from the respective knitting sections to a remote collecting station, depositing the blanks conveyed from the respective knitting sections into their own separate receiving parts of the remote collecting station, so that the deposited blanks from the respective knitting sections accumulate in separate batches at the remote collecting station, and extracting the batches of blanks from the separate receiving parts of the remote collecting station while maintaining the different batches separate from each other, with the object of ensuring that the blanks of any subsequently made-up garment have all been produced in the same knitting section. Conveniently this method is carried out in conjunction with a sequential knitting arrangement such as disclosed in our Pat. No. 1,035,473 wherein different blanks such as front, back, and arm blanks, are knitted sequentially in garment sets. The conveying of the blanks may be in respect of single Patented Sept. 20, 1971 blanks at a time, one blank from each knitting section, or in respect of garment sets of blanks at a time, one set from each knitting section. The extracting of the blanks may be manual, for delivery to a making-up department indirectly, or by transfer operations for delivery directly to a making-up department.

The invention also provides collecting means for knitted blanks pressed-off from straight bar knitting machine, comprising a conveyor extending along the machine and adapted to receive the blanks at locations opposite the respective knitting sections, a collector unit at an end of the conveyor and having separate receiving parts for the blanks, and means for operating the conveyor and collector unit in predetermined mutual relationship suitable for the blanks from the respective knitting sections to be delivered by the conveyor to the separate receiving parts of the collector unit respectively. Conveniently for driving the conveyor, which may be an endless belt conveyor, there is an electric motor which can be started and stopped or be under control of a clutch which can be engaged and dis-engaged. The motor or clutch is under control of electric switches tripped by trip arms at spaced locations along the conveyor, or along a chain parallel to the conveyor.

The collector unit having the separate receiving parts is operable by an electric motor to present each receiving part in turn to the end of the conveyor, the motor or a clutch being under control of electric switch means, and an indexing mechanism. The switches are provided in a suitable electric circuit with an electric timer switch of the machine and other starter control switches and a drive control relay.

The above and other features of the invention set out in the appended claims are incorporated in the construction which will now be described as a specific embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of a straight bar knitting machine having blank collecting means according to the invention.

FIG. 2' is a diagrammatic illustration of part of the collecting means.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic illustration of another part of the collecting means.

FIG. 4 is a detail plan of part of the collecting means.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged detail diagram of relevant parts of an electric circuit for the collecting means.

Referring to FIG. 1 the collecting means comprises in this example an endless belt conveyor 1 which is mounted to extend along the front of a multi-section straight bar knitting machine M to receive the pressedoif blanks at locations opposite the respective knitting sections such as A to D.

At the end of the conveyor 1 is mounted a collector unit 2 which may be a hopper or drum which is partitioned by radial partitions 2a, also FIGS. 3, 4, to provide as many compartments such as 2b as there are knitting sections in the machine. Alternatively the collector unit may consist of a plurality of bag containers one for each knitting section and mounted on a chain or ring.

The conveyor is driven through drive transmitting means 3, FIG. 2, and a gear box 4 from an electric motor '5 which is connected to a 3-phase AC supply through conveyor motor starter contacts CCl, CC2, CC3.

The collector unit 2 is driven, through drive transmitting means 6, FIG. 3, an electro-magnetic clutch 7 and a gear box 8, by an electric motor 9 connected to the 3-phase AC supply through index motor starter contacts MCI, MC2, MC3 In the drive transmitting mechanism is an indexing wheel 10 with which co-operates an index plunger 11.

The conveyor 1, FIG. 2, or a chain disposed alongside it, has longitudinally spaced trip lugs 12 controlling spaced switch arms 13 of electric control switches S1, S2, and the indexing plunger 11, FIG. 3, of the collector unit 2 controls an electric control switch S3.

As will be seen from FIG. 5, the electric control switches are in a suitable electric circuit which generally comprises an instruction circuit, a drive circuit, and a condition circuit, in series.

In series in the instruction circuit are a card reader switch CRS which is of programming chart and reader means for programming operations of the machine, a turn round clock switch TRS which is of a timing mechanism which comes into operation between the production of successive blanks, a conveyor motor overload switch CMS, and an index motor overload switch IMS.

These switches are also in series with a relay RL1/ 3. In parallel with the card reader switch CR3 and the turn round clock switch TRS are the switch S1 and relay contacts RL1/ 1.

In the drive circuit are parallel relay contacts RLl/Z, RL1/3 in series respectively with conveyor motor starter coil C1 and index motor starter coil C2.

The condition circuit includes parallel switches S2, S3

. connected in series with an electro-magnetic clutch coil The machine in this example has electric burner severing devices for the yarns, and operation of these, when blanks have been pressed-off, for severing the yarns causes starting of a turn round clock timing mechanism for preparing the machine ready for starting the next blanks.

The card reader switch CRS is normally closed so that normally the system would operate after press-off. However this switch CRS is under control of the machines programming control means, and if the blanks are required to be collected in garments sets, the punched chart will cause the switch CRS to be opened and to remain open until the required number of blanks for a garment set have been produced in each knitting section, and then the switch will close for the collecting means to operate. To allow operation of the collecting means the overload switches provide that all the yarn severing burners have operated and the conveyor and the collector unit are free to operate, and the switch S1 is normally open with the conveyor in normal Home position.

The pressed-oft blanks fall onto the conveyor in front of the respective knitting sections, and the turn round clock switch TRS is temporarily closed and then reopened. Assuming that the card reader switch CRS is also closed from the programme control means for the machine, and that both the overload switches CMS and IMS are closed, relay RL1/3 will be operated. With relay contacts RLl/2 closed the conveyor motor starter coil is energized and the motor 5 will start the conveyor. With relay contacts RLl/l closed the circuit will be retained by closing of the trip switch S1 by a trip lug 12 on the conveyor 1 or chain. With contacts RL1/3 closed, the index motor starter coil is energized and the motor 9 will start, but the electro-magnetic clutch is already dis-engaged by switches S2 and 83 being open.

The collector unit will be disposed with one of its compartments, or bags, opposite the end of the conveyor which will then deliver the end blank into this compartrnent. At this position of the conveyor the switch S1 will be re-opened by a trip arm on the conveyor or chain to stop the conveyor; the switch S2 will be temporarily closed by a trip lug 12 on the conveyor, or chain, so that the electro-magnetic clutch coil is energized and the clutch is engaged so that the collector units steps on to present the next compartment or bag to the end of the conveyor. During this motion the detent wheel is stepped on and first causes switch S3 to close to retain the circuit to the clutch coil, and finally causes switch S3 to reopen to tie-energize the clutch coil and stop the collector unit.

This sequence is re-started from the turn round clock switch TRS being timed to re-close for the next blank to be delivered to the next compartment or bag, and so on, until all the banks have been delivered to the respective compartments whereupon the turn around clock switch TRS is not again re-closed until the next series of blanks have been produced.

It will thus be seen that blanks from each knitting section will accumulate in their respective compartments or bags, and all the operator has to do is to extract a batch of the blanks from each compartment or bag in turn and to maintain the batches separate say by tying and if desired also labelling each batch to indicate which knitting section it has been knitted on.

Consequently the blanks of each batch can be subsequently made up into separate garments so that the blanks of which each garment is composed have all been produced in the same knitting section. This is a most desirable feature since there can be a noticable difference between blanks knitted in different knitting sections.

The arrangement is of particular advantage in conjunction with sequential knitting disclosed in our Pat. No. 1,035,473 since under control of the card reader switch, the collecting means can be caused to deliver the blanks only each time a garment set of front, back and arm blanks have been produced. Therefore the different sets of blanks are maintained separate and the respective front, back and arm blanks of subsequently made garments can be confined to those produced only in the respective knitting sections.

The collector unit may be modified to have associated with it suction pipe means by which the batches of blanks may be separately transferred directly to a making-up department.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for use with a series of article-producing mechanisms to transfer the articles from the mechanisms into a series of collecting compartments respectively, said apparatus comprising transfer means adapted for receiving the articles from the respective mechanisms at longitudinally spaced locations thereon, collector means providing the series of collecting compartments, and means for obtaining relative cooperation between said transfer means and said collector means for delivery of the spaced articles from the transfer means to the respective ones of the collecting compartments.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, having electric controlling means for controlling operations of said transfer means and said collector means, said electric controlling means including a timing electric switch operable during periods between production of successive articles for instigating such operations, and controlling electric switches under control of the movements of said transfer means and said collector means for continuing such operations so that the articles are delivered from the article-producing mechanisms always to the same respective collecting compartments.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 including a programme controlled electric switch in parallel with said timing electric switch for rendering the latter ineffective for periods while sets of the articles are produced by the article producing mechanisms so that the articles are delivered in sets from the article-producing mechanisms to the respective collecting compartments.

4. Apparatus for use with a multi-section straight bar knitting machine capable of producing sets of knitted blanks each set for a different garment, said apparatus comprising transfer means adapted for receiving the knitted blanks from the respective knitting sections of the machine, collector means providing a series of collecting compartments, timing means operable between production of successive knitted blanks for instigating operations of said transfer and said collector means for delivering knitted blanks from said transfer means always to respective ones of said collector compartments, and programme controlled means for rendering said timing means ineffective for periods while garment sets of the knitted blanks are produced by said knitting sections, so that the knitted blanks are delivered in garment sets from the knitting sections to the respective knitting compartments.

5. Apparatus, for use with a multi-section straight bar knitting machine producing knitted blanks, comprising a conveyor extending along the machine to receive the knitted blanks at longitudinally spaced locations thereon, collector means providing a series of collector compartments at the delivery end of the conveyor, means for operating said conveyor for delivering the knitted blanks from each spaced location in turn to the collector means, means for operating said collector means to present said collecting compartments one by one to a location for receiving the knitted blanks in the difierent compartments respectively, and programme controlled timing means for timing operations of said transfer and collector means to operate during periods between production of selected successive blanks. t

6. Apparatus, for use with a series of knitted-blankproducing mechanisms, comprising an endless conveyor extending along the mechanisms for receiving the knitted blanks at longitudinally spaced locations thereon, a collector drum providing a series of collecting compartments and rotatably disposed on a vertical axis at the delivery end of said conveyor, a first electric motor drive transmission for driving said conveyor, a second electric motor drive transmission for said collector drum, and electric control means, for controlling operations of said conveyor and collecting drum, comprising a timing electric switch operable between production of successive blanks for starting said conveyor, electric switches operable periodically under control of said conveyor, and an indexing electric switch under control of said collecting drum, and a programme controlled overriding electric switch in parallel with said timing electric switch.

7. A multi-section straight bar knitting machine having in combination therewith transfer means for receiving and operable for delivering the knitted blanks from the respective knitting sections successively to a delivery station, collector means operable at said delivery station for receiving the knitted blanks in respective different compartments, timing means between production of successive blanks for instigating operations of said transfer and collector means, and programme controlled means for rendering said timing means ineifective during periods while sets of the blanks are produced, whereby the blanks can be delivered in sets thereof from the knitting sections to the respective different compartments.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS RONALD FELDBAUM, Primary Examiner 

